Ding dong my dish is dead.

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coinmaster32

SatelliteGuys Pro
Original poster
Sep 25, 2010
916
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USA
My dish was moving until a week ago before we got 18" of snow. I waited a while until most of the snow was gone off my dish, so I would not load down the actuator. Well today I try to move it, and it won't move.

The receiver is working, sending out 36 volts dc, the wiriing all seems to be working, so why wont it move?
 
My dish was moving until a week ago before we got 18" of snow. I waited a while until most of the snow was gone off my dish, so I would not load down the actuator. Well today I try to move it, and it won't move.

The receiver is working, sending out 36 volts dc, the wiriing all seems to be working, so why wont it move?

If i had to guess and i am,but if the temp has'nt been much above freezing lately i would say it is simply froze from water getting into the nooks and crannies!
 
Triple check or re-do all inside connections
When you try to move the Dish, does the Positioner Sound like it's trying? A little click, or Error?

Then check or re-do all outside connections, and try again.
 
i just wanted to say this thread has the best title to it i have seen in a yr.
brought a smile to my face when i read the title.
but i do hope u get your dish working again :)
 
You didn't specify what dish mover you had but I agree with others that it's likely something froze up. VonWeise movers have a hole in the bottom of the mover (if it's mounted correctly that is) that allows water to run out but the SuperJack I have doesn't have one of those. The Superjack does have a seal around the inner shaft that is suppose to keep water out but, well, it may not keep ALL of it out. Now this is assuming that it is mounted correctly, which I've seen done wrong BTW as I have one that was mounted upside down and it was really horked up inside cuz the water couldn't get out!

Ennywhoot, while you're checking on wire connections and stuff if you get a warm day it may come back to life for ya!
 
Very often, in the right(or wrong) conditions, condensation can occur and freeze between the inner arm and the outer sleeve. This will stop the actuator dead in it's tracks.
If your dish is readily accessible, you can carefully thaw out a frozen arm with hot/boiling water.
Slowly pour the water over the top of the outer sleeve, behind the front end(where the inner arm extends from), back to where the back end of the inner arm should be.
You should take a pot to catch the water from under the actuator. That way you can re-pour the water and avoid other messes.
Once the arm is moving again, go up and down the arc a few times to help clear it up.
Years back, some of the dealers in these parts would drill a hole to allow them to load the actuator with chainsaw oil. That seemed to cut down on service calls in the worst weather.
 
One of the best things to do is to make sure that the inner to outer shaft seal is good. If it is frozen up now then it will likely happen again unless you seal it off.

FYI, I made a seal for my VonWeise out of a 3 inch long piece of automotive radiator hose and two stainless steel screw type clamps. The hose would barely slip over the outer tube and I hose clamped that one tight then put a second clamp on the area of the inner tube and put just enough tension on that clamp to squeeze it down to seal water out. Add you favorite grease to the inner tube and you've got yourself a near water proof seal. ;-)
 
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